OBITUARIES.
Dr. Francis Clifford Phillips died at his residence, 144 Ridge Ave., Ben Avon, Pa., on Monday, February 16, 1920, of influenza-pneumonia, passing away in the same peaceful manner which characterized his life.
He was born in Philadelphia, April 2, 1850, the son of William S. and Fredericka Ingersoll Phillips. He received his early education at home from an unusually capable and devoted mother. In 1864 Dr. Phillips studied at the Academy of the Protestant Episcopal Church in Philadelphia, and in 1866 entered the University of Pennsylvania, where he obtained his A.B. From 1871-1873 he studied under Regimus Fresenius at Wiesbaden, Germany. During the latter year he was private assistant to Prof. Fresenius. He then spent a year at the Polytechnic School at Aachen (Aix-la-Chapelle). Here he was associated with Prof. Landolt. Professor Phillips was unable to complete his studies abroad because of the poor health of his father. He returned to America, and during the following year became instructor in chemistry at Delaware College. In 1875 he was appointed to the teaching staff of the University of Pittsburgh, then the Western University of Pennsylvania, where he taught for forty years, retiring as head of the department in 1915. For many years he taught chemistry, geology, and mineralogy. In 1878-1879 he also lectured to the students in the Pittsburgh College of Pharmacy. In 1879 he received the degree of A.M. from the University of Pennsylvania, and in 1893 the Ph.D. from the same institution. In June 1919 Dr. Phillips received the honorary degree of Doctor of Science from the University of Pittsburgh.
He was married in 1881 to Sarah Ormsby Phillips, daughter of Ormsby Phillips, a former mayor of Allegheny.
In 1915 Dr. Phillips retired from active service in the University of Pittsburgh under the pension system of the Carnegie Foundation. On this occasion his colleagues and the alumni tendered him a banquet at which he was presented with a check for one thousand dollars for a little vacation with "Mother" Phillips. Professor Phillips was so solicitous of the safety of his dear wife, that though they intended visiting the Bermudas and the Panama Canal Zone, the war, with the possible accompanying danger in ocean travel, caused him to postpone the trip which was never realized. At the banquet, the fruit of his labors as a teacher was in plentiful evidence, including such men of prominence as George H. Clapp, J. M. Camp, Walther Riddle, C. M. Johnson, Charles Kellar, Charles Dinkey, W. A. Hamor, Jacob Rosenbloom, the late Robert Carnahan and many others. It was an evening of tribute to one who had so conscientiously given to former students all that he possessed as a teacher.
Since 1915 he had been engaged continuously in research and writing in a laboratory provided by the Mellon Institute. During the recent war he conducted researches on gases in cooperation with the Gas Warfare Service.
Dr. Phillips was an authority on natural gas, in which field he held international recognition. In 1904 he published the "Methods of Analysis of Ores, Pig Iron and Steel Used by the Chemists in the Pittsburgh Region," and in 1913 a "Textbook of Chemical German," of which a second edition appeared in 1916. At the time of his death Dr. Phillips had two other books well under way, one on the "Life and Work of Joseph Priestley," the other on "Qualitative Gas Reactions."
Dr. Phillips was a member of the following societies:
Phi Kappa Sigma Fraternity since 1867.
Engineers' Society of Western Pennsylvania since 1880.
American Association for Advancement of Science since 1887.
American Institute of Mining Engineers since 1892.
American Chemical Society since 1894.
American Philosophical Society since 1894.
Phi Lambda Upsilon Fraternity since 1919.
Dr. Phillips was a member of the Chemists' Club of New York City and the University Club of Pittsburgh. He had been a member of the Council of the American Chemical Society since the organization of the Pittsburgh Section in 1903.
As the Rev. Henry H. Forsythe so aptly said at the funeral service. Professor Phillips' life was characterized by many great virtues. Though recognized throughout the world for his researches on gases, he was simple and plain as a child and never refused another his counsel on any matter. He possessed a modesty rarely seen in men and walked always in a humble spirit. He loved and bore the love of his many pupils, who though they might have had a difference in the classroom invariably learned to love the dear professor. He was the gentlest and kindest of men. As in his scientific researches he realized that the strictest observance of truth and honesty was necessary for the accurate solution of nature's secrets, so in life he walked uprightly and knew not of untruth or subterfuge.
Beside his widow, Mrs. Sarah Ormsby Phillips, Dr. Phillips leaves two sons, Clifford S. and Frederick I. Phillips.
-Alexander Silverman
Source: The Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, published by The American Chemical Society, Easton, Pa., Volume XII, 1920; Pgs. 399-400
